A HP-50GX would have been incredible

[Bill Triplett]

An open letter to Swiss Micro,

Please create a 50gx. Give it a display with greater pixel density. Otherwise, eliminate the bug that was introduced in ROM 2.15 where IFTE fails to work when graphing functions.

Bug:
https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-15710.html

This bug was never fixed. The main reason is the 2.15 ROM uses every available byte. There is no room to apply the simple patch which would eliminate the bug. So, SM would make a version of the machine with more memory, and create a ROM 2.16. The new ROM would not fit into a traditional HP-50g.

For practical problem solving, the user interface design in the 50g is difficult to beat. It keeps the number of user actions needed to a minimum. It is well worth fixing the remaining small bugs.

Make it physically thinner, and easier to carry. Do not under any circumstances give it a battery-eating backlit display. For what it does, it really does not need a touch screen. There is no need to make it into another Prime. Keep the user interface style as it is, much as the DM-42 kept the style of the HP-42S. If we want a touch screen, we will buy a Prime.

Bill

PS: I know SM does not have the source code, but that could change.